Three Corpses

Common card · No. 451290

The Three Corpses (Chinese: 三尸; pinyin: sānshī) or Three Worms (Chinese: 三蟲; pinyin: sānchóng) are a Daoist physiological belief that demonic creatures live inside the human body, and they seek to hasten the death of their host. These three supernatural parasites allegedly enter the person at birth, and reside in the three dantian "energy centers", respectively located within the head, chest, and abdomen. After their human host dies, they are freed from the body and become malevolent ghosts. The pernicious Three Corpses/Worms work to harm their host's health and fate by initiating sicknesses, inviting other disease-causing agents into the body, and reporting their host's transgressions to the gods. The Three Corpses are supposed to keep records of their host's misdeeds, ascend to tian "heaven" bimonthly on the night of Chinese sexagenary gengshen (庚申; "57th of the 60-day cycle") while the host is sleeping, and file reports to the Siming (司命; "Director of Destinies") who deducts a certain...

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